An immense (25 or more large volumes) and not yet completed translation of the Russian flora. Full of information on plant uses and habitats but heavy going for casual readers. It can be downloaded from the Internet.

Basic cultivation details, plant uses, habitat etc for several thousand species of plants, mainly from the temperate zone.

].
The tree is harvested from the wild for local use as a food, medicine and source of materials. It is also harvested commercially as a medicine and source of wood. The tree is sometimes grown in shelterbelts and has often been planted as an ornamental.
The plant self-sows freely, it sometimes escapes from cultivation and has been listed as 'Invasive' in some areas, such as the American Midwest[

An immense (25 or more large volumes) and not yet completed translation of the Russian flora. Full of information on plant uses and habitats but heavy going for casual readers. It can be downloaded from the Internet.

Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

], is resistant to 'Dutch elm disease', a disease that has destroyed the greater part of all the native elm trees growing in countries such as Britain and the USA. The disease is spread by means of beetles. There is no effective cure (1992) for the problem, but most E. Asian, though not Himalayan, species are resistant (though not immune) to the disease so the potential exists to use these resistant species to develop new resistant hybrids with the native species[

Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

].
This species used to be widely planted in N. America because of its toughness, rapid growth, ability to thrive under arduous growing conditions and resistance to Dutch elm disease. However, it has escaped from cultivation and become a noxious weed in several N. American states[

Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

]. The dried inner bark can also be ground into a powder and then used as a thickener in soups or added to cereal flours when making bread etc[

Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

]. The seed can also be harvested 'green' (when it has fully developed but before it dries on the tree) and sown immediately in a cold frame. It should germinate very quickly and will produce a larger plant by the end of the growing season[

Does not deal with many species but it is very comprehensive on those that it does cover. Not for casual reading.

]. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Plants should not be allowed to grow for more than two years in a nursery bed since they form a tap root and will then move badly[